


Reap What You Sow

by CloudyLightning



Series: If Grima was a Mother [2]
Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Manakete!robin, Manaketes, and Chrom is that one guy who cannot stop staring, basically everyone - Freeform, he has a sarcastic arse, how do you tag in this thing, robin is like a blank slate but a stubborn arse, sweets galore
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-22
Updated: 2019-03-20
Packaged: 2019-05-26 21:24:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15009746
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudyLightning/pseuds/CloudyLightning
Summary: Robin was just a normal Manakete who did his best to make ends meet. It was only a matter of time before he got picked up by a blue haired prince and was proven wrong.-The long awaited sequel to Ask and Thou Wilt Receive-





	1. The Stone in the Wall

**Author's Note:**

> Yo--
> 
> This story is the sequel to Ask and Thou Wilt Receive. It picks up about 4000+ years after the ending. I recommend reading the first story to understand this. Yes, the old one was is a bit wonky - especially with timelines, but it was mainly because I wrote it years ago.

If there was an emotion that he could use to describe what he felt, it would be an odd sense of longing. There was stone that would always catch his attention and it was imbedded in the wall of the throne room. It nestled in the middle of Ylisse's Emblem, only glowing faintly every time the sunlight would filter through the room. It was nothing like Argent, the white gemstone of the Fire Emblem, but it had its own beauty and radiance in the soft hues of blues and purples that swirled inside it.

No matter how many times he would look at it, he would feel a longing in his heart. It was like a strange urge to scale the walls and retrieve the stone before running off with it. He nearly did once, and boy did his father punish him for his foolishness.

Despite it all, he knew in his heart that the stone didn't belong there.

No one knew how the stone called out to him- in his dreams and sometimes in his waking moments. It begged to be returned to some place he had never been, a place he never recognized.

When his father passed away and his eldest sister took the throne, the stone's calling only increased. Over the years, he had learned to ignore it and took every opportunity to leave the castle to look for temple in his visions, but he never did find a trace of it anywhere. Maybe it was far outside of Ylisse to be reached.

He wasn't the only one with these urges though. He had noticed his sisters (both younger and older) would glance up at the dragon stone with a strange look on their faces before turning away. He once caught his retainer doing the same. He began to wonder if the dragon stone was desperate that it reached out to the others.

Even now, as he stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at the stone, Chrom could feel it crying louder and louder.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn't terrified.

._._._._._.

A sudden jolt woke Robin up. The manakete felt himself fall to the floor, smacking his cheek. He groaned at the pain and snapped open his eyes, only to meet a veiled sight of an odd color. Great, he was blindfolded. He took a moment to gather himself, hoping to get some sort of idea where he was.

The floor rattled and shook beneath him, and it felt like wood. Robin could hear the sounds of a horse and gravel crunching together constantly. There was no doubt in his mind that he was in a wagon of some sort. It was probably night time if the lack of light was anything to go by.

He coughed, cringing at the burning sensation in his throat. By aunt Naga's name, it hurt. He shook his head and tried to sit up, but it was hard for him to move his arms for support. His head also felt a little heavier than it usually felt. He moved again and finally realized what tangled around him that didn't feel like ropes. How long did his hair grow...?

He suddenly felt the wagon come to a stop and heard a grunt from above him- the driver, maybe.

"Whaaaooo! Boys, we stop here for camp!"

There was a series of noises that Robin found hard to keep up. He was still confused as to what was going on. He heard someone board the wagon and felt a harsh hand grab his upper arm. He was pulled up to a sitting position and gathered into someone's sturdy arms.

"What do we do with the jewel, boss?" said the person holding him. Robin wanted to yell at them to get their hands off him, but he kept his mouth shut. There was no telling if he was safe or not.

"Hm, put him with the rest of the treasures and guard that wagon," said another voice. It certainly didn't sound kind, but rather disgusting as they continued, "We'll sell him for a pretty gold coin for his looks."

"Think he might be one of those dragon folks?"

"All the more reason to sell him."

There was a gruff answer of understanding and Robin's heart lurched when he moved to another place. He was deposited gently in what felt like bundles of silks and felt a lock of his hair held for a moment before it was dropped.

"Damn, look at him," said a new voice, "The boss sure we're gonna sell him? He's pretty young."

"'Course we gon sell 'im. That's how business works."

Robin continued to stay still as he heard a loud clank and something clicking in place. He waited for the voices to fade away before sitting up. He tugged at his bindings until they broke after several minutes. He shoved off the ropes and pulled off the blindfold. He had to blink several times to make any sense of his surroundings. He found himself in the middle of a wagon full of silks, chests, and gold containers. Robin immediately scowled.

"I am not some dainty little treasure," he hissed under his breath. He looked around him and picked up an extremely long lock of hair from the floor. It was a ashen grey in the little moonlight that filtered in the wagon, and he knew it was his. Robin slid off of the pile of silks and stood on shaky legs. Tiredness clung heavily on him as he stretched out his thin and bony limbs. It felt like his body was finally waking up.

He looked down at himself and frowned at the silk clothes he wore. They were oddly short and a little tight in some places. His shorts had barely reached his mid thigh and his hooded cloak didn't keep him warm. the silk arm guards were more of a bunch up band of silk around his wrists. His feet were bare, but he never did recall wearing them. He stopped for a second and his mind blanked.

Since when did he grow this big...?

Shaking his head, he ran his hands through his ridiculously long hair to shove back a strangled cry.

"What the hell... happened to me...?"

The last thing he remembered was...

Robin felt his blood run cold. He didn't remember anything.

There was a sudden thump of a body hitting the ground and a low, pained groan. Robin's shoulders tensed in alert and grabbed the nearest gold vase. He steeled himself and swung when a shadow slipped into the wagon.

"Whoa! Wait!" Robin didn't have time to react as the vase was easily dodged and his hands were restrained behind him for a second time.

"Let go of-" His mouth was covered in an instant as the intruder hushed urgently.

"Quiet!" they whisper yelled. Robin huffed in annoyance and stayed still, ready to defend himself when needed. "Look- just, don't scream when I let you go, alright?"

Robin nodded vigorously. He didn't understand why the intruder was here for, but maybe he could escape if he cooperated. He took in a few gulps of air when he was released from the intruder's grasp.

"Huh- you don't look like a bandit," observed the intruder.

"Because I'm not," Robin snapped.

"What are you even doing here in this wagon anyway? I thought it's supposed to be only treasure in here?"

Robin shrugged and rubbed his exposed arms. Damn, it was cold.

"I don't know - I literally just woke up."

"Wait- _you're_ the jewel everyone is scrambling to get?"

"Uhm..." Robin suddenly put the pieces together in his head, "Oh. I guess? But that's a dumb thing to call me."

"Damn it, and here I thought I really struck gold." The intruder sighed and sat on the pile of silks. His ginger hair was pale in the moonlight and had an off white stick in his mouth. Was the intruder eating a lollipop?

...That would explain why his voice sounded weird.

"Either way, I'm Gaius," he introduced himself, "You are?"

"Robin..."

Gaius got up from his makeshift seat and grinned at him, "Alrighty, Robin, grab what you want- we're getting out of here."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wfell, tell me what you thought! 
> 
> Preview!
> 
> "What? No, it feels weird to wear those," Robin said, eyeing the pair of leather boots in Gaius' hand.
> 
> "Well," the thief drawled as he dropped the pair in the sack he carried, "don't say I didn't warn you when you stub your toe on a rock."
> 
> Robin shook his head and turned on his heel, "You underestimate my-"
> 
> His face greeted a tree root before he could finish that word.
> 
> "Told ya."


	2. The Dragon and The Thief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaius is a kind thief.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, look-- an update. 
> 
> Little note: Yes, Robin is 4,000+ years old but he doesn't know. No one knows. And yes, Chrom and the others have been reincarnated. This story is based off of a ton of research and ignores the "beginnings" mentioned in Echoes/Shadows of Valentia.

In all honesty, Robin knew that he really shouldn't be trusting a man that was about to "steal" him, but then again, being stolen away from bandits sounded a lot better than being sold. Gaius was even kind enough to gather up his hair and help him tie it into a messy bun under the cloak they robbed off the unconscious bandit. At this point, Robin had nothing else but to trust the man.

Robin silently cursed when he felt the full force of the chilly night air. His legs were barely protected, but at least the cloak was warm. He reminded himself that he sorely needed a new attire if he wanted to survive. Then again, he did grab a nice set of soft clothes in that wagon. Gaius had it in his sack.

"You know how to ride a horse?" the man whispered to him. They were both hidden not too far from the bandits' campfire, and they were lucky that there was only one taking watch. The light of the fire wasn't strong enough to reach them too. Robin shifted from his hiding spot behind a crate and peeked over to the tied up, and saddled horses. Could he?

"...No," he answered honestly. Maybe he did, but with the lack of memories in his head, he certainly didn't want to try.

Gaius's face looked thoughtful for a moment, "Hmmm, do you know how to mount one?"

Robin shook his head. Probably not. "Am I supposed to?"

There was a grin that stretched across the man's face and a slight glint in his eyes. Robin felt a slight tinge of dread when Gaius gestured to follow him. They snuck around, keeping out of sight from the watcher and creeping as silent as possible (though Robin stumbled so many times that Gaius had to catch him) and approached the horses. The second Robin was close, a caramel horse with a white nose turned its head and nudged him affectionately, easily unbalancing him.

He had to bite his own tongue to refrain from making an undignified sound as Gaius immediately pulled them both to the ground. The watcher looked in their direction before shrugging and turning his back toward them. Robin breathed a sigh of relief as Gaius relaxed.

"Stay down, I'm going to untie the horses," the man whispered.

"All of them?"

Robin stayed where he was, watching Gaius cutting away at the reins except two. Gaius looked over to him and gestured to the caramel horse and easily pulled himself up on another horse. Robin looked up at the caramel horse, whose eyes seemed to sparkle at him. He had no idea how to mount a horse, so he tried to copy Gaius's movements. He was clumsy, nearly missing the reins to help himself up, but he managed.

He didn't have time to settle as Gaius suddenly smacked the rear of his horse. Robin yelped as the caramel horse neighed and reared on its hind legs, nearly throwing him off. There was a series of neighs and whines all around him as the other horses got spooked. He was glad when he remembered to grab the reins and dug his heels in the horse's sides to stabilize himself.

That was an utter mistake.

Robin couldn't help from screaming in shock as his horse shot forward in a fast gallop. The sounds of hooves quickly followed after him.

"Hey! Stop! Thief!"

The entire herd of six or seven horses (Robin couldn't remember counting them) ran away in fright, all in one direction.

Gaius quickly grabbed a hold of the reins of Robin's horse and guided them away from the unmanned horses, "Don't worry, I got you!"

"Please don't let go!" Robin looked behind him and spluttered a laugh. The other bandits had woken up and sluggishly ran and scrambled after them, yelling curses and promises to kill them. And damn, were their archers so bad at aiming.

He couldn't stop the grin that spread across his face as the bandits got smaller and smaller and the sky slowly grew brighter and brighter.

He was free.

...and still freezing.

._._._._._.

"Hey, did it fit?" Gaius asked from behind a tree. They had finally stopped somewhere in a forest after Robin complained about the cold and his arse hurting. The thief agreed for a break and handed Robin the clothes he snagged, telling him to wear those instead of his "skin loving silks". Robin frowned at the clothes he wore, not completely satisfied with it, but... it fit. Somewhat.

They were nowhere near as soft as his old silks were, but it was manageable. He wore a tan sleeveless undershirt tucking in a pair of baggy brown pants that reached his heels, and a short sleeved, jacket that stopped below his ribcage. Even with the shirt tucked in, the pants was still too loose, constantly slipping off of his bony hips. He quickly improvised with one of his old silk ribbons as a belt. The jacket was a light forest colored green lined with gold, and a soft purple inside. His hands and feet were still bare, but he was used to it.

It was... kind of alright. He didn't have much of a choice in the matter anyway. He would just have to make do.

Nodding to himself, he stepped into the small clearing and struck an awkward pose with a slight wave of his hand at Gaius, "It feels strange, but it fits... okay, it's scratchy. How do you wear anything that isn't silk?"

"Oh, come on, it's cotton. I gotta say though, it's a little baggy," Gaius said, giving him a once over, "but if you eat and travel with me, you'll fit into it in no time."

Robin doubted that, but he didn't voice it as he slipped the stolen cloak back on. Gaius dug into his sack.

"Now, to finish it off, here's a pair of boots I snagged with it." Gaius pulled out a nice pair of light leather boots with a grin. "Try these on. They look like they'd fit you better than me."

"What? No, it feels weird to wear those," Robin said, eyeing the boots in Gaius' hand.

"Well," the thief drawled as he dropped the pair back in the sack he carried, "don't say I didn't warn you when you stub your toe on a rock."

Robin shook his head and turned on his heel, "You underestimate my-"

His face greeted a tree root before he could finish that word. The horses nearby neighed in slight surprise (or laughter) and one nudged at Robin's hair.

"Told ya."

"...just give me the boots, please."

He resigned himself to wearing the boots, covering the embarrassing bruise blooming on his foot.

"Alright, Bubbles, ready to go?"

He had to take a moment to register what Gaius said, "Bubbles...?"

The thief didn't look away from his self imposed task of trying the caramel horse to the other grey, "You know, Bubbles, like the soapy bubbles that float in the air when you use too much?"

Robin sighed and decided that it was best to just leave it, "...Right. Where are we going?"

Gaius gave one final tug on the knot he tied and nodded in satisfaction, "Roam around until we hit a town, I guess. There might be a road, but we'll have to follow it from a distance. We did run away from bandits."

The thief didn't pause as he helped the confused manakete onto the saddle properly, "I tied our horses together for now. Maybe, I'll teach you how to ride this one."

The horse under Robin neighed softly, seemingly bobbing its head in agreement. Robin gave it a light pat on the neck as he nodded gratefully to the thief, "Thanks, Gaius."

Once Gaius settled on his own horse, the two made their way out of the forest and rode for as long as they dared, only stopping to rest the horses and much on a bit of candy. Robin found out that he did not like riding. His arse was sore and he didn't know how much longer he could take. He felt like he would rather soar through the air than ride on another fact, he could probably guess that his legs fell asleep.

Despite it being day, the dark clouds quickly rolled in out of nowhere and a heavy amount of rain suddenly dumped on them. The exhaustion in his bones seemed to ache when water began to soak through the cloak and into his clothes. He gave up on keeping the hood on as the wind constantly blew it off. He bowed his head in futile attempt to lessen the pouring rain that petaled him, but it only made his thoroughly soaked hair weigh even heavier.

In short, Robin was miserable, and he was pretty sure that Gaius and even the horses were just as miserable. He just wanted to get out of the rain more than anything at this point.

The sky suddenly flashed several times and thunder immediately followed it.

"Bubbles, this way!" He barely heard Gaius yelling over the strong winds and managed to catch a glimpse of a small barn house's silhouette.

Shelter.

The horses had a bit of a difficult time reaching the doors that they dismounted them. Gaius managed to unhook the large slab of a wood lock and the doors slammed open, allowing Robin to herd the horses right in.

"Hurry, the doors!" Robin yelled, grabbing one and pushed against it with all of his weight. Gaius took the other, and together, they fought against the wind to slam the doors shut. They both sighed in relief when they heard the slab of wood fall back in place outside, effectively locking them in.

"Welp, we're not leaving that way, that's for sure," Gaius huffed as he pulled off his soaked, black cloak and wrung it. It was almost hilarious to watch the absurd amount of water pour to the ground. Robin sneezed as he did the same. Their only source of light was the occasional flashes of lightning that made it as bright as day. Robin quickly took in how small the barn was, and caught glimpses of piled hay and a few horses and cows stowed away in stalls. Their own horses roamed around a little before both settling in a stall big enough for the both of them.

Robin had taken the time to undo the bun of his hair and wrung it out. He was careful not to tangle the long strands together because he knew that there would be hell to pay. Gaius heaved himself to his feet and rummaged through his bag. He found a match and lit up the closest lantern hanging from a beam. The barn house bathed in the warm light, but it still rattled from the blistering winds. With one shared look, Robin heaved himself to his feet and joined Gaius to their mounts. He unsaddled his horse with the easy directions from the thief and hung it to dry on a rail.

"Man, that storm really snuck up on us!" Gaius said as he threw a wool-knitted blanket (they found one folded at a corner) over a pile of hay.

The exhausted manakete nodded in agreement and promptly plopped himself next to him, "No kidding... I was starting to believe that we'd never find shelter."

Gaius grunted in agreement as he laid back. They both rested in comfortable silence for a little, finally taking the much needed breather. In all honesty, Robin wanted to sleep so badly, but for some odd reason, he couldn't. He would close his eyes for a long moment, but he was still hyper aware of the ropes swaying in the beams above, Gaius's calm breathing, and the barn animals shuffling around uneasily.

"So... what are you, Bubbles?"

Robin opened his eyes and noted that Gaius still laid on his back, staring right at him. He answered with a shrug, "What kind of question is that? I'm sure my pointed ears were a dead giveaway."

"You sure? I mean... I never seen a person with pointed ears before."

"I'm sorry - what?" Robin couldn't hide the incredulous tone in his voice. That didn't sound right at all. "That's impossible."

Gaius sat up and raised an eyebrow at him, "No, seriously. They're aren't anyone with ears like that - well, there's the mythical manaketes in faerie tales - But, they're just that. Myths."

The manakete couldn't stop staring at him with wide, disbelieving eyes. A myth? No - he was sure that there were _many_ manakete tribes that lived openly with humans. Being rare? Absolutely absurd and unheard of!

His mouth gaped for a few seconds before he managed to get it working again. He heaved a sigh and rubbed his face for a moment. Despite him not being able to remember much of anything, Robin was very sure about one thing.

"Gaius, you're literally looking at one right now."

It was Gaius's turn to stare at him for a long moment. Robin almost wanted to shift under his scrutiny, but he stayed put. He was almost sure that the thief might've fallen asleep with his eyes open until he finally answered.

"Damn, Bubbles - I thought you'd look older."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well-- tell me what you thought of this chapter! Who wants to guess who shows up next? 
> 
>  
> 
> Preview!
> 
> "That looks bad. That looks really, really bad."
> 
> Robin huffed in frustration and jabbed the handle of the scissors in Gaius's direction, "Then why don't you do it?"
> 
> "Hey - I'm not a professional," the thief said as he raised his hands in surrender, "But I can try."
> 
> "Nevermind - you're the last person I should ever ask."


	3. The Farmer and His Family

The moment the latch on the door shifted, Gaius snapped his eyes open with a curse on his tongue. He shot up from his impromptu nap on the haystack and drew his sword. Yet, as he finally turned to the door, he froze in confusion.

There, standing there with a pitchfork in his hands, was a startled, young teen against the - was that sunlight?

"What in the - Thieves!?"

That wasn't a bandit.

Gaius blinked several times as his sleep muddled brain struggled to keep up with him. Where was he? What did he do? Was he captured? Why was his head singing about chocolate ri- He vigorously shook his head to clear his thoughts.

His gaze focused on the teen again, who pointed the pitchfork toward him. His brain suddenly clicked and quickly lowered his sword, "Yes - no! I mean, no! We're just resting, kiddo, I swear."

The poor teen's mouth gapped like a fish out of water with disbelief clear on his face, "You sure don't look like some passerby!"

"Look, kiddo, remember that storm? Last night, I think?"

A vigorous nod.

"We got caught in it and this was the only place that we could reach for shelter! I'm not gonna take your cows."

Gaius's words seemed to register as the teen slowly lowered his pitchfork.

"So... that's it?" the teen asked.

"Yeeuuuup," Gaius said as he popped the 'p'. He sheathed his sword and offered a casual smile, "Hope you don't mind us stayin'?"

The poor boy looked completely at a loss of what to do. They just stood there, staring at each other as an odd, almost awkward silence sank in.

"Nggh..."

A sudden shift in the hay tore Gaius's eyes away from him. He almost believed that the white mass of something was a messed up horse until it parted. The thief relaxed a bit when he recognized Robin.

The manakete groggily pushed himself up to his knees and rubbed at his eyes like a drowsy child. Robin smiled lightly when he saw Gaius, dropping his arms as if they were lead, "...Morning."

Gaius didn't have the chance to greet him when he suddenly heard the pitchfork clatter to the ground. He looked back to the teen only to see the ends of his boots disappearing from the doorway.

"Wait - kid!"

"Paaa! There's a couple sleepin' in our barn!"

._._._._._.

To be quite honest, Robin was completely lost. He was still in the process of waking up when Gaius hauled him up to his feet and guided him out of the barn. His eyes practically burned at the bright sunlight, forcing him to screw his eyes shut to adjust. He still felt groggy and maybe a little hungry, but at the same time, he wanted to go back to sleep.

He was aware of Gaius rushing to explain their situation to a farmer and a scrawny teen that met them outside of the barn, but all the words went through one ear and out the other. Robin pulled his wrist away from the thief's hand and sat on a wet bundle of hay, still soaked from last night.

"So," the farmer began as he ran a hand through his greying hair, "You took shelter in our barn durin' the storm, and you _swear_ you ain't done anything to the young lady?"

Gaius sighed for the umpteenth time while Robin _finally_ chimed in.

"First of all, I'm a _guy_ , thank you," the manakete corrected as he waved a hand to catch their attention. He ignored the wide-eyed, astonished look the farmer suddenly tossed Gaius, "And yes, Gaius and I stayed here for the night because the storm was..." His mind completely blanked for a second as he struggled to describe it. When Gaius looked at him, he said the first thing he felt, "-wet."

Gods, he needed to wake up.

"There was a few empty stalls so we unsaddled our horses, if that's alright," Gaius immediately picked up, "Riding in that kind of weather isn't the best, ya know?"

The farmer waved his hand in dismissal and shook his head.

"It's alright. Seems like you fellers know how to care for yer own steeds, at least," he said. He placed a hand on his hip and patted Gaius's shoulder, "Sorry for the misunderstandin'. I'll talk to my boy about jumpin' to conclusions."

"Sorry, sir!" the teen apologized with a quick bow of his head, curly locks bounced as he moved.

"It's alright - no harm done, after all," Gaius said, then he suddenly grinned, "Actually, do you mind if my friend and I stay here for a little while? We, ah, had to travel suddenly, and we really aren't prepared go anywhere right now."

The farmer returned that grin with one of his own, "Well, only if yer fine with the barn - not enough room in my home."

"Eehhhh, yeah sure. Gotta take what you can," Gaius said with a hopeless shrug. He turned to Robin half dozing on the hay block, "You okay with that, Bubbles?"

Robin sat up straighter and spoke with a drawl, "As long as I'm warm, I'm good."

The farmer laughed, "Then that settles it! I'm Deven, and this here is my boy, Donnel."

"Call me Donny!" the teen chirped.

"I just hope you don't mind lendin' a hand here and there. I could use the extra help in these fields," Deven said as he gestured the fields, "Especially after that storm."

Both thief and manakete turned to look and almost immediately regretted it. Before them was a mass of tall stalks of corn, and wheat either broken or partially uprooted. The farmer literally needed _all_ the help he could possibly get.

Gaius slowly turned back to Deven with a forced grin, "Only if you got some hand me downs we could borrow..."

Donnel bumped his chest with a fist, "I got a few!"

For some odd reason, Robin felt like he was signed up for something terrible.

._._._._._.

Robin sucked at swinging a sickle and it _showed_. By the time he nearly injured himself for the seventh time (and Donnel scrambling to get away from the clumsy manakete), Deven deemed him as a walking calamity. He handed him a basket of salvaged vegetables and sent him off to his wife, Sera. Gaius almost envied at how bad the manakete was at it. It was a lost opportunity to get out of the godsforsaken farm work.

Luckily, Robin was better at helping the farm wife around the house.

Somewhat.

Donnel's mother was literally the sweetest person Robin had ever met (then again, he only woke up like, what - a few days ago? So, that list was _tiny_ ). She made him sit for a few minutes as she quickly tied up his absurdly long hair in a neat, loopy, braided bun. It was so much better than Gaius's slightly tangled handiwork (to his credit, Gaius never worked with hair as long as Robin's before).

Other than not being able to swing a sickle right, Robin learned a few more things: he was really bad with his coordination and he moved around as he was the size of a child. He stumbled over his limbs more times than he could keep track of. Sera was very patient with him when he accidentally crushed more than one corn husk, broke the clothing pins a few times, and toppled over a stack of firewood. Robin was just glad that Gaius wasn't around to see that.

"Don'cha worry about that, dear. One thing at a time," she would always tell him.

To add to Robin's embarrassment, he often found himself pulling at the borrowed clothes that Donnel lent him. It felt scratchy, prickly, and it rubbed in all the wrong places, but he forced himself to endure it.

Donnel seemed like a pretty good kid, from what Robin had seen of him. He worked diligently and was always ready to act upon instructions with gusto. Robin found Deven to be very... welcoming for back of better words - but the correct word that the manakete looked for was "fatherly". It amazed Robin how the man began to treat the freeloaders as if they were literally his own kids - not that he was complaining. Robin didn't mind the nice treatment. It was a million times better than being tied up in a brigands' wagon.

All in all, Robin figured that they were in good hands - despite the fact that they kind of broke into their barn house.

._._._._._.

By the time evening fell, Gaius and Robin found themselves back in the barn after quite the busy day. Sera had insisted that they take a bath, and when Robin opened his mouth to decline, the look on her face immediately shut him up. Deven and Donnel handed them a basket of bread and cheese, and a few blankets with an extra lantern to stave off the cold before they headed back to the barn.

"Uuugh, farm work is not something I'm cut out for!" Gaius complained as he stretched out on a wool blanket. Robin had a set frown on his face as he attempted to brush his damp hair with his hands.

"Well, at least you can swing that thing," he huffed, tugging at a tangle, "do know how many times I broke Sera's baskets? A lot."

Gaius couldn't help but laugh from his place, "Yeah, I saw when we arrived for dinner."

Robin gave him an exhausted look and turned away from him. The tangle in his hair got a little worse as he continued to just tug at it, not really summoning the effort to try a different approach.

The thief was quiet for a little bit, watching the manakete silently glare at the offending tangle. Gaius snorted and sat up, pulling out a pair of scissors from a hidden pocket.

"Hey, I asked Sera if we could borrow it - figured that you would want to cut your hair or something."

Robin didn't hesitate to brush his tangled mess over one shoulder. He grabbed the offered scissor from Gaius and held it up to his gathered locks. Just like that, Robin snipped at it in any available angle, not caring if it was completely off. As he cut, it felt like an odd burden was slowly being lifted. The long strands of hair piled up on the barn floor, almost pooling around his ankles. When he was finished, he looked up to see Gaius blinking at him.

"What?"

"That looks bad. That looks really, _really_ bad."

Robin huffed in frustration and jabbed the handle of the scissors in Gaius's direction, "Then why don't _you_ do it?"

"Hey - I'm not a professional," the thief said as he raised his hands in surrender, "But I can try."

"Never mind - you're the _last_ person I should ever ask."

Gaius shrugged and 'hit the hay' for the night (and he literally did anyway), "Well, it's your funeral."

._._._._._.

Donnel and his mother screamed the next morning they arrived at the house.

"Oh my Naga - who tried ta kill you?!" she cried as she carded her hands through his horribly chopped hair. Robin could only manage incoherent responses when he was pushed onto a stool. He could hear Gaius's laughter in the background.

"I think it was his first haircut," Gaius offered unhelpfully.

Donnel gaped at him, "An' you _let 'im?"_

Robin groaned and dropped his face on his hands, "Ugh, it's just a haircut for crying out loud."

Sera immediately retrieved her borrowed scissors, "A bad one at that! Now _sit still_ while I fix this."

The stern tone in her voice jolted Robin to sit up straight and face forward.

"And you boys go tend the crops until yer pa comes back from the market," she ordered, "That field's not gonna care for itself!"

"Yes, ma'am!" The two chorused. Gaius tossed Robin a grin that _clearly_ said 'I told you so' as he followed Donnel out of the house.

Robin sat in that stool for a good hour before Sera declared him presentable.

"There! All fixed up!" Sera stood back and smiled at her efforts, "Your hair's a lot easier to work with than my Donny, but you look a'right."

Robin tugged at the white lock of hair that fell in front of his eyes. He marveled over the fact of how light and weightless his head almost felt. He dropped his hand and gave an apologetic smile to his rescuer, "Thanks, Sera. Sorry for the trouble, through."

Sera immediately waved a dismissing hand in the air, "it's nothin', dear. Now, go an' clean up while I start breakfast."

Robin quickly got himself busy with a broom and swept away the strands on the floor. He gave himself a quick wash outside of the house, reminding himself to bring in a bucket of water in a bit. Robin stopped to stare at a white haired young man on a water's surface. He looked to be in his late teens or early twenties, but Robin had a leaking suspicion that he was _much_ older than that. To be quiet honest, the young man staring back at him made him feel pretty unnerved, but he couldn't quite figure out why.

It just did.

It wasn't until he moved that he realized that the reflection was _him._

"Who... am I?" Robin muttered to himself. His reflection stared back at him with those green eyes, looking more and more astonished. Since when were his eyes so... _green?_

Gritting his teeth, he splashed the surface with his boots as he carried a bucket back in the house. As far as he was concerned, he was just some manakete trying to -

He stopped. What was he trying to do?

Robin heaved a heavy sigh. So many weird questions were prancing around in his head and the sun hadn't reached noon yet. Maybe everything started to catch up to him and he was just now dealing with it.

Not that he knew how to handle it.

A low whistle drew him out of his internal wreck. He looked to see Gaius leaning on a wooden fence.

"Daaamn, that you, Bubbles? Sera sure knows how to fix that nightmare," the thief said, "Almost didn't recognize you."

"Almost didn't recognize myself to be honest," Robin answered as he splashed water toward Gaius, who easily dodged the muddy water, "Weren't you supposed to be tilling or something?"

"Or something," Gaius responded, then he changed the subject, "How do you like it here?"

Robin only offered a half hearted shrug, unable to come up with an answer in general.

"Well, you better decide, because I'm thinking of leaving this place the day after tomorrow. The field's almost cleaned up, so there won't be much to do after that."

Robin nodded in agreement, "I agree. We should start preparing tonight, then maybe head into town tomorrow? Only if Deven doesn't need you."

Gaius stuck a lollipop in his mouth, "I'm sure he'd let m- wait- are you coming with me?"

Robin looked at him with confusion, "You mean, I wasn't?"

"Ah-well - I figured you should stay longer - kind of seemed like you might settle here."

Stay longer?

Settle here?

For some odd reason, that didn't sit right with him. If anything, Robin just knew that he needed to go somewhere, but it certainly wasn't here. The manakete gave Gaius a deadpanned stare, "Thanks, but no. I don't mind sticking with you - only if you don't mind."

The thief furrowed his brows, "Bubbles, do you even know how to fight?"

Robin shrugged, "Maybe?"

"Nah, maybe's not gonna cut. The roads are pretty dangerous for a pretty thing like you."

"I dare you to call me pretty again."

Gaius stood back and held his hands up to show he wasn't, "Look, Bubbles. I'm a thief, and I steal things for a living. You're not a thing, so I'm not gonna take you with me. Plus, you don't know how to protect yourself."

"Then teach me," Robin said. He placed a hand on his hip and shifted his weight, "I'll learn quickly."

"Can you swing a sickle?" Gaius asked with a pointed look.

That almost shut Robin up.

Almost.

"No- but maybe holding a sickle isn't my thing? Just teach me a few basics, like with a sword or dagger-"

"That's not gonna-"

Robin gave him a determined look, "Gaius, please. I can't stay here."

The thief opened his mouth for a second before he closed it, catching the lollipop before it fell. He returned Robin's gaze with a pensive look. They stood there for a good moment, just staring at each other until someone backed away.

It seemed to stretch for hours before Gaius finally broke it with a drop of his shoulders.

"Fine. One day," he said. He pointed his lollipop in Robin's direction, "One day to learn how to swing one of my daggers, and I'll take you with me."

Robin couldn't help but grin at the challenge, "Deal."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked it!
> 
> Preview!
> 
> "So, ah... jus' what are you, uh, Bubbles?" Donnel asked as he didn't bother to hide his staring. Robin couldn't help but look over his shoulder to make sure there wasn't anything behind him, before giving the teen a look.
> 
> "Robin. My name is Robin," he huffed. He continued to brush the mane of his caramel horse, "I'm a manakete."
> 
> Donnel just stared at him with a blank stare, "A what now?"
> 
> Robin returned his stare, "A manakete...?"


End file.
